In an effort to get people to use public transport and leave their cars at home more, all of this week Bratislava is offering free transport to anyone who holds a driving license.
The week-long campaign was launched yesterday in a gesture that will cost public transport over the short term, but might prove profitable over the long term as more people see the benefits of using public transport, instead of driving a few kilomtres to work, parking all day then driving the few kilometres back home.
The idea is part of European Week of Mobility involving over 1,000 cities in 33 countries. In Slovakia it only applies to driving licenses issued here and it cannot be used for night services or cross-border trips.
The manner in which these city buses are often driven is more appropriate for Mogadishu in the rush hour, so foreigners are not really missing that much.
Peter’s logic is a little disturbing, though, and harps back to former times when foreigners were charged double, or should we say Slovaks were given a fifty percent discount, for the bus service to Vienna airport, hotel rooms etc.
Being discriminatory is not unusual Slowvakia . Try getting EU funds for a project here and not be Slowvak . My Belgium Friends applied for EU funding for a valid tourism project and where told by the Office dealing with this, that it is NOT there job to give EU money to anyone that was NOT Slowvak . The EU cash allocated was for their people, not a foreigner ! So much for a level playing field eh?
it was a bit discriminatory to limit it to Slovak licences because I know many foreigners who have lived in BA for years and years, who wont get the benefit, while Slovak tourists visiting the city will, for example.
So is it discrimination for someone to set some rules? I think it is fair enough as it is – in their boots, I would do same thing, because main reason is to convince people who use cars (and I bet it is overwhelming majority that have slovak licenses) to try public transport, and not to care if I will not discriminate one or other groups.
If we were using your logic, then you can also say, that there is discrimination about language – why they speak in slovak language? I dont speak it – so they have to now speak by my language?
well, there is just no arguing with that kind of logic, where you think that the majority eliminates the minority. Quite absurd.
There is one truth in Slovakia: better this than nothing. But I think It would have been better to have free transport for valid vehicle registration holders from anywhere.
The only problem is that it is valid only as long as driving license is issued by Slovak government…